


Reality Check

by Vicky



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Angst, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-08
Updated: 2010-10-08
Packaged: 2017-10-12 12:47:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/124989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vicky/pseuds/Vicky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She needed to feel it was the reality...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reality Check

**Author's Note:**

> Once more a short post The Real World fic because the whole ep calls for something like this. Once more, many thanks to Jaclyn for the beta work! (written in 2006)

Elizabeth was sitting on her bed, her father's watch still in her hands. She was ready to go to bed and though she felt exhausted, she refused to give into sleep, afraid to wake up anywhere else but in Atlantis. Her eyes started to close and she shook her head and stood up to pace to shake the tiredness off of her. Knowing that this pacing wouldn't be enough, she left her room and started to walk along the corridors.

Soon, she found herself before her second in command's quarters and before she could think about it, she had already knocked on the door. He opened it, clad only in his boxers and an open shirt, his hair messier than usual, and was surprised to see her at his doorstep.

"I woke you up. I'm sorry. I should go," she rambled, turning away but he grasped her wrist to hold her back.

"Come in, Elizabeth," he said, pulling her inside, the door closing behind her.

They stood there, John still holding onto her wrist. Elizabeth knew she should be the one to start talking because she came to his quarters in the first place, but she couldn't. They stayed like this, without uttering a single word for a while, before John released her wrists. He didn't know why she was there but what he did know was that it was linked to what happened to her that day. They hadn't really talked about it; he just came to see her in the control room after his release from quarantine and he left after a really bad joke. He knew she probably needed to talk but he wasn't sure to be the right person for this.

So when her lips came crashing on his when he wasn't expecting them, a part of himself was relieved that the talk wasn't for now. He was unresponsive for a moment but then he took control of the kiss, nipping and licking at her lips, begging for her to open them for him. He heard something fall on the floor but he didn't care to find out what it was because soon after one of her hands was in his hair, pulling him closer to her, while her other one roamed at his chest, leaving goosebumps in its trail. Both her hands then came to rest at his shoulders, sliding his shirt off of them and he shrugged it the rest of the way off, letting it fall at his feet.

They broke the kiss for a lack of oxygen and looked intently in each other's eyes, breathing heavily.

"Elizabeth, we shouldn't…," John started, still a little out of breath, realising what they were doing.

"Please, John…"

Her whispered plea was his undoing. Shedding her off her t-shirt, he took her lips again possessively. His hands then made their way around her to unclasp her bra, letting it join her t-shirt on the floor. He released her lips and looked down at her chest, taking in her half-naked body. She lowered her head, not wanting to meet his eyes.

"God, Elizabeth, you're gorgeous," he whispered, putting two fingers under her chin to lift it up.

She was the one to reclaim his lips this time, her hands already attacking his boxers while his were doing the same with her pyjamas pants. Soon, they were both naked and John pulled her backwards to the bed, falling onto it with her still in his arms, their lips still locked. He rolled them over to be on top and broke the kiss, looking intensely into her eyes.

"John…," she once more whispered in a pleading voice, lifting her hips to meet his.

It was neither slow nor gentle but frantic and rough, both of them needing to release the tension of the last day. She was sure his fingers would leave marks on where they gripped her hips but she didn't care; she needed to feel it was the reality. Her own hands were on his back, leaving claw marks on it. He nipped at the base of her neck before soothing it with feather-like kisses but she knew she would probably have to conceal it in the morning. It wasn't long before they both came, John resting heavily on her, panting while she too was trying to catch her breath.

The aftermath of their lovemaking, though they couldn't really call it that since it was more about sex and getting their release than love, was a real contrast with the last half an hour. They were both on their sides; John was spooned against her back, one arm around her waist while the other propped him up. Elizabeth's hands were absently playing with the watch she had retrieved from the floor.

"What is it?" John asked, his voice not louder than a whisper.

"It was my father's. Mom gave it to me when we first left for Atlantis. She told me that my father always wanted to give it to me himself, but he never could. Since then, I always look at it, or play with it when something's wrong in my life."

"Like that time with Kavanagh…?" he said more than asked, remembering having seen it on her desk when he came afterwards.

"Yeah… When I was in this reality created by the nanites in my head, she gave it to me like it was the first time. And I broke down," she admitted, shedding a few tears that he quickly erased from her cheeks.

"It doesn't work anymore," he said after a while. "Want me to look at it and see if I can fix it?"

"No. I like it like that."

"As you wish…"

Silence fell upon them, Elizabeth still moving the chain with her long and slender fingers. John was watching her, not wanting to disturb whatever thoughts she might have running in her head. It was her voice that finally broke the silence.

"What have we done, John?"

"We crossed a line," he answered her without having to think about it; that thought had already crossed his mind a few times.

"And is it a good or a bad thing?" she asked, unsure of what she'd want him to answer

"I don't know," he replied. "There are going to be some changes, and we'll have to decide if it was just a one night stand or something more." He heard Elizabeth sigh at his words and continued. "I don't think you're ready to make this kind of decision, and neither am I, I guess. I don't think it's a decision we can make without thinking of the consequences either."

"So what do we do?"

"We're going to wait for at least a few days before talking about it. And for now, maybe you can tell me about the story of this watch."

Elizabeth seemed to agree with him since she soon started talking. From the watch, she stretched to her family and her life on Earth. Deep inside her, she wondered why she was so willingly opening up to him, but she knew it was because it was John, her best friend here and she needed him to know what she had gone through. She was rewarded when he too started to share some stories about his past, though more shyly.

She wouldn't forget the nanites episode soon but she knew that with friends like John, the rest of his team and Carson, it was likely that she was going to feel better and better every passing day. After all this was not a perfect reality, but it was hers and she wouldn't give it up for any other.

Fini.


End file.
